Comments

Abstract

In Australia, all higher education Information and Communications Technology (ICT) programs seek accreditation at the professional level with the Australian Computer Society (ACS). It acts as the basis for national and international benchmarking of ICT professional education. Additionally, meeting the requirements of an independent professional body is vital for onshore and offshore course marketing purposes, hence contributing towards the University‘s performance portfolio. The overriding task of the ACS accreditation is to examine all aspects in the provision of a quality ICT education program designed to produce competent graduates. To this end, the ACS seeks evidence that comprehensively covers the three main aspects of accreditation assessment: the structure and content of curricula; the resources of the teaching and learning environments; and the quality assurance processes in place at the applying University. This paper describes the recent ACS accreditation of Victoria University computing courses: the accreditation process, the preparation for the accreditation, the visit of the accreditation panel and their feedback. The paper reports on the local response and the process of addressing the panel recommendations which posed a number of local challenges. An insight into issues of importance in the execution of the recommendations is discussed as the ACS accreditation informs the framework for future course reviews.